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Atom
Justice League of America Team Member Part-time SuperFriends Team Member , Issue #6 (1977) appearance.]] cartoon (1967)]] The Atom is a superhero who is a member of the Justice League of America. He has the ability to decrease the size of his body, in other words, he can shrink himself. __TOC__ Background Information Continuity from Super Friends (comic book) Issue #6 Several years ago, when Ray was a student at Ivy University, he began to work on compressing matter. He got his first big break when he saw a meteor land. He believed it to be a fragment of a white dwarf star. In his lab he was able to make a lens from the star fragment. He soon discovered that by focusing ultraviolet rays through it, it he could shrink inanimate objects. However, when shrunk these objects would be unstable eventually exploding. His next break regarding his research came on a nature hike with some kids and his friend Jean Loring. While in a cave they trapped in a cave-in. After an hour of trying to escape, he deciding to use the reducing lens on himself he had luckily taken with him. He made his way out and freed the others quickly as he wanted to go back to normal size before he exploded. But he didn't because of the chemicals in the water in the cave that got onto the reducing lens. He eventually made a special reducing suit made out of the dwarf star as well. Continuity from Filmation's DC Superheroes Adventures (1967-1968) appearance]] The Atom (Ray Palmer) first appears in the Filmation produced shorts, shown during The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure. In this series, we see him working as a professor, investigating scientific revolutions in plant-life, size manipulation and genetics. Often, he finds himself in situations involving scientific outcomes which he, as the Atom, has an increased advantage to overcome. Earth-One Background In the parallel universe of Earth-One, the Atom is a physicist and university professor Ray Palmer. Using a mass of white dwarf star matter, he fashioned a lens which allowed him to shrink down to subatomic size. Originally, his size and molecular density abilities derived from the white dwarf star material of his costume, controlled by mechanisms in his belt, and later by controls in the palms of his gloves. He carries out the bulk of his early superheroic adventures in his home of Ivy Town where he often helps his girlfriend, lawyer Jean Loring, win her cases.Background Information is from Silver Age continuity. Powers and Abilities with his wife Jean Loring.As seen in Issue 6 of the Superfriends comic book (1976).]] Powers *'Size reduction': He can make himself incredibly small, however he doesn't seem to be able to turn himself into a giant. *'Mass Alteration': Able to instantly alter his molecular density to whatever degree he desires. Ray can also assume any weight at any height — up to his full 180 pounds. *'Sub-Atomic Strength:' Possesses Sub-Atomic strength at reduced size *'Flight: '''Glides on air currents *'Genius level intellect' *'Atomic Pulse: He can project atomic particles that disrupt sonar. Abilities *Judo: Atom is trained in the martial art known as Judo. *Physics: He is a professor of physics at Ivy University. *Swordsmanship: He is also fairly good at combat with a sword. Equipment *Bio-Belt' SuperFriends Team Members Episode Appearances Notes * The ''Silver Age Atom, Ray Palmer first appeared in Showcase, #34 (September/October 1961) * Ray Palmer was named for real-life science fiction writer [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_A._Palmer Raymond A. Palmer] (August 1, 1910 – August 15, 1977), who was himself quite short. * He was created by Gardner Fox and Gil Kane. * He made his first animated appearance in three seven-minute episodes that aired as part of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure in 1967 and guest starred in the [[DC_Superheroes:_The_Filmation_Adventures#Justice_League_of_America_Segments | Justice League of America segments]] of the same show. *The Atom has a different voice in his first appearance on Hanna Barbera’s Super Friends. In all future appearances, voice director Wally Burr takes on the role. * Absent from his 'animated' appearances is his at-the-time-girlfriend, Jean Loring, his hometown, Ivy Town, and any mention of the mass of white dwarf star matter that gives him his power. * There have been four characters who have shared the Atom codename: **The original Golden Age Atom, Al Pratt, was created by Ben Flinton and Bill O'Connor in 1940. **The second Atom was the Silver Age Atom, Ray Palmer, who first appeared in 1961. **The third Atom, Adam Cray, was a minor character present in Suicide Squad stories. **The fourth Atom, Ryan Choi, is the Modern Age version, who debuted in a new series in late 06'. Gallery Vlcsnap-1383871.png Vlcsnap-1386587.png The Atom.png External links *Ray Palmer at wikipedia.org *The Atom at wikipedia.org *The Atom disambiguation page at the DC Database *Index to the Atom's Earth-1 adventures *Article on the history/legacy of The Atom from the Comics 101 article series by Scott Tipton. * The Atom at Don Markstein's Toonopedia™ * The Atom at Scott's Home Page Reference Category:Characters Category:DC characters Category:Superheroes Category:Live-action characters Category:Justice League Of America Members